Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns

The Toronto Zoo is temporarily closed, because about 400 of its unionized workers are on strike. According to CUPE Local 1600, the zoo’s union, the main point of disagreement is job security: the workers want the city-run zoo to continue a longstanding commitment not to allow the zoo’s complement of full-time, permanent staff to dip below 150 employees. Zoo management would prefer to do away with the staffing minimum.

Most unions rely on strikes for leverage, but the Toronto Zoo’s employees have another weapon at their disposal: terrible animal puns. The placards on the picket lines are laden with so many zoo-related groaners that it’s a wonder city hall didn’t cave to workers’ demands days ago. Here are some of the worst we could find.

Okay, yes. “Seal” has two meanings. So far, so good:

Photo by @FredHahnCupe/Twitter

Cute hippo drawing. We like:

Photo by @FredHahnCUPE/Twitter

This one is a little offensive to penguins, but otherwise okay:

Photo by @FredHahnCUPE/Twitter

“Turtley?” That’s not a word, but it still scans. We’ll let it slide:

Photo by @CUPEOntario/Twitter

“That’s all rhino” is definitely pushing the limits of intelligibility, but it… kinda makes sense?

Photo by @CUPE9112/Twitter

The sign on the left is okay, but the “gnu” thing is pretty confusing. The “150 clause” is a provision of the zoo workers’ collective agreement that prevents zoo management from having fewer than 150 full-time, permanent workers on staff:

Photo by @aamandaellenn/Twitter

Good god no:

Photo by @CUPE9112/Twitter

Now you’re just inserting animal names into sentences for no reason:

Photo by @lahzsa/Twitter

Some truly terrible puns here. But hey, that’s the level of yak painting we’d expect from a zoo professional: